Effect of acid additives on sugarcane bagasse pyrolysis: Production of high yields of sugars

[Display omitted] •Sugarcane bagasse was subjected to acid wash to improve levoglucosan production.•Alkalines were drastically removed after acid wash using HNO3/H2SO4 (0.2wt.%).•High levels of levoglucosan from volatile pyrolytic compounds were attained. The aim of this work was to improve sugarcane bagasse thermochemical conversion to pyrolytic sugars production, particularly to levoglucosan. The experiments were carried out evaluating the effect of acid washing with HNO3 (0.1wt.%) followed by H2SO4 addition (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3wt.%) at pyrolysis temperatures of 350, 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600°C was studied by Py-GC/MS. The experimental results showed that HNO3 washing, followed by H2SO4 concentration of 0.2wt.% at 350°C resulted in an increase in levoglucosan yield between 5 and 7 times the yield obtained when the raw bagasse was processed. Thus, these results are very attractive to improve pyrolytic sugars production in sugarcane bagasse by previously acid treatment to pyrolysis technology.